A new class-action lawsuit has been filed against Apple over its Siri voice recognition feature of the iPhone 4S with allegations that the company is falsely representing the service's capabilities.

iPhone 4S owner David Jones filed suit against the Cupertino, Calif., company on Tuesday, as reported by the Los Angeles Times. The new lawsuit echoes a similar complaint filed by a consumer in New York earlier this month.

"Through its nationwide multimedia marketing campaign, Apple disseminates false and deceptive representations regarding the functionality of the Siri feature," the report noted the suit as claiming. "For example, in many of Apple's television commercials, consumers are shown using Siri to make appointments, find restaurants, and even to learn the guitar chords to classic rock songs. In its advertisements, Apple depicts these tasks as easily accomplished "just by asking" Siri."

The complaint went on to characterize Apple's commercials as a"deceptive" because they "diverge greatly" from real world use of the feature by the plaintiff and "fellow consumers."

For Jones specifically, "Siri would either not understand what Plaintiff asked, or, after a long wait, provided the wrong answer," the suit read. He purchased the smartphone in December and is seeking "relief and damages" for himself and other iPhone 4S buyers.

Most of Apple's advertising efforts for the iPhone 4S have focused on Siri. The first commercial for the company's latest handset showcased the range of tasks that Siri is capable of performing. Subsequent TV spots took a more narrative approach and showed iPhone 4S users relying on Siri for a cross-country trip and starting a rock band.

A recent study found that 87 percent of iPhone 4S owners use Siri at least monthly. Some respondents called the functionality the "best thing since the invention of toast," while others described it as "very disappointing."

Scattered reports have emerged of users, especially those with accents not specifically accommodated by Apple, having trouble operating Siri. Despite the fact that Apple has actively promoted Siri, the software remains in beta.

Siri currently understands French, German, Japanese and Australian, British and American English. Apple has promised to teach Siri Mandarin, Italian, Korean and Spanish later this year.

Beta! Get a grip people. I have used SIRI to make appointments and send text messages. I have also asked SIRI to look up information for me without looking at the screen while I was driving. SIRI isn't the main reason to buy an iPhone. In comparing SIRI to a windows phone or an android phone, SIRI is far better. I can't wait for the actual non beta version to be released.

I wonder if this person who is filing this law suit is actually being used by some other company to try and discredit Apple.

When someone buys a 4s they are undoubtedly aware of Siri and it may have been part of the decision to make that purchase and therefore has a value in their own mind attached to the total cost.
If Siri has not lived up to expectations, it could therefore been seen that the purchase is no longer as valuable to the buyer.
The buyer then takes a view as to whether they wish to return the product free of charge and get a refund - Apple are happy to give a refund within what most would consider to be a reasonable period.

So is it reasonable to suggest that being aware of this a group of dissatisfied consumers were just unable to make their minds up within this period and needed longer to make this decision.

Given that it is not an inconsiderable financial commitment to purchase the 4s either on contract or off, you might think that anyone with even a smallest amount of common sense would take the time over the return period to determine whether their inability to use this service satisfactorily and return the product within that timescale.

On the other-hand you might just think this is a bunch of greedy bastards being led into this by a 'professional' greedy ambulance chasing chances looking to make a fast buck rather than earn an honest living.

What a waste of everyones time clogging up the legal system but at least it gives us a chance to laugh at those who would rather sponge off of anybody else rather than getting on with their life.

If when it's out of beta stage that doesn't mean that every thing every person says will be comprehendible. It's not reading your mind.

Think about the text-based comments we get on this forum. I'm not talking about voice recognition software or a server trying to parse your meaning, I'm talking another human being typing words that are read by another human being. Yet way too often their meaning is unclear or batshit crazy. If that's happening on an internet forum what chance does Siri have in understanding everyone, every time?

This bot has been removed from circulation due to a malfunctioning morality chip.

Seriously, David Jones and co should live where commercials aren't 30 seconds long and instead, sitting down watching ads between TV shows (for example) where the steps not shortened to show how those actors really use Siri to achieve those particular results. See how they like sitting 2 hours to finish a 20 minutes sitcoms when all ads have to be as in real life, eh! I imagine it take longer for him since clearly he is clueless of how the world works. Or the advertising works I should say.

And so it was, the first class action lawsuit in history where everyone involved received a BILL for $3.45.

My Mom and Pop are not "Tallest Skill"-savvy. They basically think beta is like "betacam" or a nice greek letter. When they see huge advertisement saying "hey, Siri is super cool, it is magical, and it's only on the iPhone 4S", they don't understand it as "Hey, Siri is a test product that may or may not work". Actually, nobody would buy it if it was advertised as such.

Disclaimer: I skipped on the 4S, waiting for next generation (the "new iPhone" I guess? or maybe iPhone "Galaxy", or iPhone 777, who the hell knows )

My point: APPLE DOES MASS CONSUMER PRODUCTS. Their ads are not supposed be understandable only by geeks like you and I, but also by completely useless (IT-wise) people like my beloved mommy, my dear pop, my sisters who haven't yet found how to operate Facetime (yeah... I know... can't help it), my artist friends who haven't ever updated their macs because the machine talks to them in windows they don't understand, so they click "cancel"... This is, really,the real world.

So, "you idiots" is Apple's consumers, for 90% of their sales... I hope my point is clear?

Social Capitalist, dreamer and wise enough to know I'm never going to grow up anyway... so not trying anymore.

He's also suing McDonald's for making the McRib appear more delicious than the lump of BBQ flavored soylent brown they actually serve.

Well, then I'm going in with him... McDonald's (and Burger King, etc) have been falsely representing their products for years. Worse is, anytime I fall for it, I swear I won't ever, and once in a while I still do it again. I hate myself when that happens

For complex cutting edge tech like Siri there is no amount of in-house lab testing that can simulate the millions of different real world scenarios Siri will encounter during the post marketing experience. That's why this stuff is released as a beta because it's still in dev. And to prevent clas-action trigger happy idiots from stopping progress for the rest of us.

How can you face a lawsuit over inventing a cool new thing? The court system is supposed to provide redress for hurting people or defrauding them, not inventing cool new things.

This is how I see it. Siri is a ground-breaking new feature. A lot of users like it and find it valuable. Perhaps for others it a bit less than magical, but as frequently mentioned it's beta, still under development. What's highly unusual IMO for a high-profile and industry leading company is making a beta feature the primary focus of the initial media blitz. Several ads a day on numerous TV channels supposedly showing how well it understands and how fast it responds. I've no doubt that a whole lot of buyers new to the iPhone bought into it just for that feature, as Apple expected they would. They won't be getting the same results tho, and yeah I know there's a tiny (very tiny) disclaimer in the closing shot. Agencies are paid well to place notices allowing them to avoid lawsuits so that they are there, but not there. I didn't even see it the first dozen or so times I saw the Rockstar ad.

The iPhone is a great device of course, and Siri shouldn't be the sole reason for buying or keeping one. It was Apple that made Siri the defining feature themselves by making it the only subject of the first wave of ads, repeated several times a day on every major network. Apple was sending the message over and over that Siri was the reason to buy the new iPhone, with no other feature being put front and center. They could be perceived as being a bit misleading by some early purchasers IMHO. By strangely choosing to focus on a beta feature as the defining reason to buy an iPhone 4S they were begging for some disappointments and complaints, which have predictably turned into lawsuits.

Apple should be commended for their creativity in adding features. Their creativity in advertising is going to come under closer scrutiny now more than in the past since they've become the biggest and richest bad boy on the block.

This is how I see it. Siri is a ground-breaking new feature. A lot of users like it and find it valuable. Perhaps for others it a bit less than magical, but as frequently mentioned it's beta, still under development. What's highly unusual IMO for a high-profile and industry leading company is making a beta feature the primary focus of the initial media blitz. Several ads a day on numerous TV channels supposedly showing how well it understands and how fast it responds. I've no doubt that a whole lot of buyers new to the iPhone bought into it just for that feature, as Apple expected they would. They won't be getting the same results tho, and yeah I know there's a tiny (very tiny) disclaimer in the closing shot. Agencies are paid well to place notices allowing them to avoid lawsuits so that they are there, but not there. I didn't even see it the first dozen or so times I saw the Rockstar ad.

The iPhone is a great device of course, and Siri shouldn't be the sole reason for buying or keeping one. It was Apple that made Siri the defining feature themselves by making it the only subject of the first wave of ads, repeated several times a day on every major network. Apple was sending the message over and over that Siri was the reason to buy the new iPhone, with no other feature being put front and center. They could be perceived as being a bit misleading by some early purchasers IMHO. By strangely choosing to focus on a beta feature as the defining reason to buy an iPhone 4S they were begging for some disappointments and complaints, which have predictably turned into lawsuits.

Apple should be commended for their creativity in adding features. Their creativity in advertising is going to come under closer scrutiny now more than in the past since they've become the biggest and richest bad boy on the block.

100% agreed. It's in the end a good thing

Social Capitalist, dreamer and wise enough to know I'm never going to grow up anyway... so not trying anymore.

And so it was, the first class action lawsuit in history where everyone involved received a BILL for $3.45.

I don't think the fact that it's a beta is much of a defense. Apple uses Siri in its advertising and I don't believe its TV ads mention that it's a beta. Further, there's an implied warranty of merchantability (that is, a product you sell is supposed to work).

For people who are able to think rationally: The product works for most people and if you don't like it, there's a return policy where you can return it without penalty for some time period. It really is almost magical for the device to be able to do what it does when you consider how much people's voices vary from one another. Will there be a few people whose language is so distorted that it can't understand them? Sure. So they return the phone - or take speaking languages.

Siri is a beta anyway. If you don't like the way it works just return the phone...before you used it for 4 months.

And why does it seem Apple gets sued so often for their ads? Has anyone ever sued the beer companies? I've never seen anyone open a beer and then have an ice train with bikini girls come flying in but that's what their commercials depict.

I have quite a few Apple products (the first Intel iMac, a 27" iMac, have all iPhones (except 4s), the new iPad) so don't confuse me for some Android fanboy on Google's payroll whose part time job is to seed anti-Apple sentiment.

That said, I don't get Apple's advertising strategy lately. I always found Apple's main attraction to be their very high quality and design. What's with this ridiculous advertising nowadays where Siri is advertised as some Star-trek like computer assistant (*but it's only beta so please don't expect anything about toy level) and the iPad is ultra fast 4G LTE (*but you have to travel to the USA for LTE).

I think that's just beneath THE leading consumer tech company of the world.

A new class-action lawsuit has been filed against Apple over its Siri voice recognition feature of the iPhone 4S with allegations that the company is falsely representing the service's capabilities.

Good heavens, if you don't like the product, return it. Did you suffer damages? Probably not. Were the ads deceptive? Apparently not for the majority of other Siri users. Has Apple got a bundle of cash? You bet! And you want some...

Here's the thing, voice recognition is constantly evolving. And certain accents, regional dialects and/or speach patterns don't work as well as others. Try calling your financial institution, government office, or a business entity that has switched from the typical "Press 1 for this, press 2 for that" to a voice recognition system. Just see how many times the voice prompt tells you "I'm sorry, I didn't get that. Please say <<<entry>>again".

Siri is a beta anyway. If you don't like the way it works just return the phone...before you used it for 4 months.

And why does it seem Apple gets sued so often for their ads? Has anyone ever sued the beer companies? I've never seen anyone open a beer and then have an ice train with bikini girls come flying in but that's what their commercials depict.

Or how about the happy faces on the users of Microsoft products? I don't people with happy faces when they use Windows.

The users that would sue Apple over Siri are just delusional. Siri is in Beta.